Cricketers push for promotion

Anstey and Glenfield Cricket Club are enjoying a busy and productive 2017 season. At the time of writing, the first team are currently flying high in Division 5 West sitting in 3rd place pushing for promotion and in Division 8 West the second XI are in 2nd place looking to climb the league ladder.First team captain, Anoop Jayaraj is leading by example by scoring 3 centuries and 4 fifties with an average of over 90 which is a fantastic achievement. He has been backed up by fellow batsmen, Sunny Singh, Brad Mollett and Kiran Nair who have all scored half centuries. The bowlers have also been performing well with Joe Harris achieving a 5-wicket haul and Charlie Wilkes leading the way with 23 wickets to date. Brilliant victories have been achieved against Rothley Park 2, Cropston 2, Earl Shilton 2, Kirby Muxloe 2, Ibstock Town 2, Narborough & Littlethorpe 2 and Charnwood Old Boys. Up to the time of writing, the 1st team have only lost 3 times and will be hoping to continue their successful run during the second half of the season to finish in the top 2 of the division.The 2nd team will be looking to continue their good form in Division 8 West. Chemika Mewan and Ranjeeva Fernando have been the pick of the bowlers so far, both posting 5 wickets in matches. In fact, Chemika also notched a fantastic hat-trick against Broughton Astley 2. The batsmen have also been contributing with Abbas Khan and Jim Pike being the highest run scorers. The second XI have had some excellent wins against Leicester Ivanhoe 4, Higham Village, Sapcote 2, Queniborough 3 and Hathern Old 2.The club have also been taking part in Sunday friendlies including a couple of superb victories against Electricity Sports and Leicester University Staff. Anstey and Glenfield CC are looking to regain the 20/20 County Shield which they won in 2015. They won their regional final against Maher and are due to take part in Finals Day on Sunday 6th August.The cricket club have been trying to encourage youngsters to take part in cricket and have engaged in the All Stars cricket programme. This involved coaching youngsters between the ages of 5 and 8 years old the basics of cricket over an 8-week period. This was highly successful with several children taking part and the feedback from them has been fantastic. In fact, some volunteers from the club have continued this programme with the aim of bringing the youngsters forward and hopefully one day the club will have its own junior team.If you are interested in joining the club, please email our secretary Amanda Wilkes. Amanda's email address is amandaandcharlie@btinternet.com. We are hosting weekly training sessions at the Gynsill Lane ground on Wednesdays from 5.30pm, so if you're interested in playing for the club, why not come down and practice. Please also visit our website at http://ansteyandglenfield.play-cricket.com and Facebook page for regular updates, results and news throughout the season.Phil Vose